Up close: Parrot Mini Drone & Jumping Sumo

Having owned a Parrot AR Drone 2.0, we were excited to see the new toys coming out from the company. So when we heard about the Mini Drone and the Jumping Sumo, we immediately visited the Parrot booth at the CES halls.

The first one is the Mini Drone. It’s actually a very small version of the AR Drone, no bigger than a clenched fist.

It’s also very light and made up of plastic. The 4 blades of the quad-copter measures around 2 inches in diameter. It also comes with a pair of large plastic wheels which helps protect the blades in case it bumps into solid objects.

Unlike the AR Drone which is controlled via WiFi, the Mini Drone connects via Bluetooth. Parrot claims that the drone can last 6 to 7 minutes on a single charge which is short but understandable due to the small form factor.

The Jumping Sumo, on the other hand, looks much more fun (those glowing eyes add some spunk) with its large spherical body and a pair of thick wheels.

It is also controlled via an app and connects via WiFi with a range of up to 160 feet. The spring-loaded wheels allow it to jump 3 feet in the air. It comes with a camera but QVGA quality only. Battery life is decent at 20 minutes on a single full charge.

We don’t have details on the retail prices of these two but we’re hoping them to be within $100PHP 5,869INR 8,475EUR 95CNY 728 to $200PHP 11,737INR 16,950EUR 190CNY 1,456.